1. Field of the invention
The invention relates in general to an intelligent peripheral controller which stores algorithms which are normally executed by a host computer. The invention is further related to a peripheral controller which both stores and executes algorithms which are conventionally executed by the host computer.
2. Discussion of the Background
Common disk drive controllers and peripheral controllers in general are fairly unintelligent, do not perform functions without being commanded by a host computer and require constant attention by the computer in order to control the peripheral device. The functions performed within the host computer to control the peripheral device frequently prevent the host computer from performing other tasks and therefore, a user of the computer must wait until the function being performed within the peripheral device is completed before the computer is available to execute other commands. For example, when a computer formats a disk within a disk drive, the computer cannot be used until the formatting process is completed. While formatting a floppy disk may take only several minutes, formatting a hard disk, optical disk, or back-up tape may take up to several hours.
When external peripheral devices such as an external tape drive or disk drive are transferred between different computers, software needed to access the peripheral may need to be installed in each computer which uses the peripheral. For example, a disk drive using a disk which has compressed data would need to have the compression/decompression algorithm stored within each computer which is to be connected to the disk drive. Additionally, peripheral devices are typically created for use with only one type of computer such as an IBM compatible computer, Macintosh computer, a computer running UNIX, or computers using other operating systems.